About this title: The Turn of the Screw tells the story of a young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans. Unsettled by a sense of intense evil in the house she soon becomes obsessed with the idea that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. Meanwhile The Aspern Papers explores obsession of a more worldly kind, with its tale of a literary historian determined to get his hands on some letters written by a great poet. Such is his drive, he is quite prepared to use trickery and deception to achieve his aims...
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Edition: 6625th ed.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9781853260698ISBN:185326069X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. Classics Library (NTC). Audience: General/trade. Back cover has a crease. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9781853260698ISBN:185326069X
Description: Good. 281-Z-Add: This copy state "Copyright 1999" Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9781853260698ISBN:185326069X
Description: New. Paperback. NEW BOOK! Shipped via USPS with Delivery Confirm for all US orders to include the continental 48 states plus Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands and all APO & FPO military addresses. Orders are shipped from San Francisco, CA. International orders are shipped via USPS AIRMAIL LETTER POST in most cases and usually takes 7-14 days to arrive depending on how backed up your local Customs Office is. All orders processed within 2 business days, with ... read more
Description: Fine. Wordsworth Classics. Clean and tight, a very nice unmarked copy. Good packing, prompt shipping. 5.5 X 8" Member, Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780141439907ISBN:0141439904
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9781853260698ISBN:185326069X
Description: Fine. PAPERBACK BOOK-EXCELLENT CONDITION-READ ONCE CAREFULLY-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9781853260698ISBN:185326069X
Description: Very Good. * BOOKS DISPATCHED WITHIN 24 HOURS * SATISFACTION GUARANTEED * ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED PROMPTLY * SHIPPED FROM UK * USA DELIVERY IN 3-5 DAYS * SHIPPED FROM UK: USA & EUROPE SPECIALISTS DELIVERY IN 3-5 DAYS. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780141439907ISBN:0141439904
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9781853260698ISBN:185326069X
Description: New. PAPERBACK BOOK-NEW-SHOP SOILED COPY-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
"I read somewhere that the Internet has so warped/conditioned our brain to so-called "multi-tasking" that the brain is no longer able to engage in deep reading without the utmost difficulty. This was the experience I had reading Henry James for the first time. The Aspern Papers and The Turn of the Screw had intriguing enough plots and characters, but it was just immensely challenging, somehow, to make it through the text. It wasn't about the length of the sentences - which, truth be told, were not the longest I'd encountered - but rather the complexity of their structure. I'd managed to breeze through Dickens but I found myself having to read and re-read James' sentences a couple of times to grasp their full meaning and nuancing.
I still can't decide about The Turn of the Screw - is the governess hysterical and hallucinating, or is she genuinely trying to save the children's souls from the evils that haunt Bly? A friend of mine said that coming to a conclusion on this was beside the point; the whole point of the story was the ambiguity lent by an unreliable narrator. But isn't half the fun drawing your own conclusions about these little mysteries?"
"Ok. I know its Henry James, and for some reason, for that fact alone, I should love it. But I didn't. Love it, that is. It was alright. I enjoyed The Aspern Papers much more than the Turn of the Screw. And I would have given 'the Papers' four stars and 'the Turn', only three.
I felt much more in touch with the emotions of our main character in Aspern. I understood what he was trying to achieve, and how it carried him into his end. I loved the character of the old lady, lost in the house, and lost to time. The feeling of "oh so close, but so far away."
But in The Turn of the Screw, you really can't know if the narrator is giving a truthful interpretation, or the children are really that bad, I felt like I was constantly trying to second guess everything. Really tedious work. And I'm completely unsure of the ending, and I suppose that's part of the whole books premise, but it left me rather stumped and ambiguous in my feelings towards it."
"The second collection of James that I have read, these are written slightly later in his career and with subtle changes to his style I enjoyed these less than his earlier works (Daisy Miller and Washington Square). The Aspern papers focus on an excentric english literary editor who pursues some personal papers from a deceased fictional poet, whom he holds in the very highest regards, from his ex-lover, now close to 100 years old. The womans spinster niece lives with her and it is through character development of these three people which drives the story. James writing style is one with many convoluted sentences, a form which takes a bit to get used to. The Turn of the Screw is about a governess who alone amongst the country household of her two young charges sees ghosts of the prior governess and butler. The ambiguity of the meaning of these images is what propels this work along. Overall, interesting reads if nothing else for the style of them, but they fall a bit short for me as compared with his earlier work."
"Ooh he's so sly! Really, I find James ultimately to be fairly "light" reading but you can't deny the man has a flair for drama. Aspern Papers especially is a wonderful little psychological study."
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